Historical Marker

Effie Waller Smith

Born in Pike County, this poet was a daughter of former slaves, Frank and Sibbie Waller. All of their children attained a greater degree of education than usual at that time. They earned teaching certificates at Ky. State Normal School for Colored Persons (now Ky. State University) in Frankfort.

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Effie Waller Smith - In addition to being featured in major literary magazines, she published three poetry books: Songs of the Months (1904), Rhymes from The Cumberland (1909), and Rosemary and Pansies (1909). She married in 1909, was widowed in 1911, and moved to Wisconsin in 1918. Buried in Neenah, Wisconsin. Smith's last published poem, "Autumn's Winds," appeared in Harper's Monthly, 1917.